Deciphering Lyme disease with whole genome sequencing
By Jonathan Shaw, Harvard Magazine
Whole-genome sequencing of hundreds of samples of Borrelia burgdorferi, the tick-borne bacterium that causes Lyme disease, has revealed why the severity of the illness varies from place to place and person to person.
The findings suggest new strategies for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of Lyme—the most prevalent vector-borne disease in North America and Europe, and one of the fastest-growing infectious diseases in the United States.
